At this time of year, everybody, myself included writes paeans to the gratitude we're supposed to feel during this holiday season, and opines that gratitude should not be a seasonal thing. All true, of course. But I want to remind all of us in the business of resolving conflict to be joyous in all that we give -- and not just during the holidays.

For me, mediation acts as a conduit for my spiritual self. I harness a higher power that I do not regularly have, but that I am able to use… Continue

A few years ago, when I had the extraordinary opportunity to co-mediate settlement conferences in the LASC as part of my training at Pepperdine's Straus Institute, I noticed parties (and often attorneys) came to the process unprepared.

Considerable time and money were invested in "the fight" but almost no time was spent preparing for "the fix" (mediation). Thus, a significant portion of a settlement conference or mediation was spent getting up to speed.

Latest Activity

http://aiminst.com/advtrack2017In litigated cases, the delivery of mediation in southern California has become increasingly litigator-driven, with disappearing joint sessions, more aggressive negotiation styles between counsel, and more combative communication between…See More

This program is a practical training course. While covering theory to give you a framework and the intellectual understanding of negotiation and mediation, this course is about learning. Our focus is on your doing, practicing and experimenting with negotiating and mediating. There is much to teach about mediation and negotiation, but one reason mediators fail is because they understand the theory, but cannot execute it when under the gun. In this course, you will mediate and negotiate your way…See More

We volunteer and we gripe. We go to “networking” events, and don’t feel comfortable there or don’t know what to do. Many of those trying to establish a career in mediation come from prior careers in law, mental health or education. These three careers are among the weakest at marketing and self-promotion. Our industry suffers unnecessarily because so many are highly skilled at mediating, and yet lack the skills that enable them to secure the opportunity to actually mediate. In this course,…See More